Skip to main content

Home/ Groups/ Solar Energy Potter
Nick Waters

pro of solar energy - 1 views

  • Solar energy is a renewable energy source. This means that we cannot run out of solar energy, as opposed to non-renewable energy sources (e.g. fossil fuels, coal and nuclear).
  • Solar energy is available all over the world.
  • Harnessing solar energy does generally not cause pollution.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • The potential of solar energy is beyond imagination. The surface of the earth receives 120,000 terawatts of solar radiation (sunlight) – 20,000 times more power than what is needed to supply the entire world.[2]
  • With the introduction of net metering and feed-in tariff (FIT) schemes, homeowners can now “sell” excess electricity, or receive bill credits, during times when they produce more electricity than what they actually consume.
  • There are no moving parts involved in most applications of solar power. There is no noise associated with photovoltaics. This compares favorable to certain other green-techs such as wind turbines.
  • The majority of today`s solar power systems do not required a lot of maintenance.
  • Renewable Solar energy is a renewable energy source. This means that we cannot run out of solar energy, as opposed to non-renewable energy sources (e.g. fossil fuels, coal and nuclear).
  • We will have access to solar energy for as long as the sun is alive – another 6.5 billion years according to NASA[1]. We have worse things to worry about; in fact, scientists have estimated that the sun itself will swallow Earth 5 billion years from now.
  • Abundant The potential of solar energy is beyond imagination. The surface of the earth receives 120,000 terawatts of solar radiation (sunlight)
  • Sustainable An abundant and renewable energy source is also sustainable.
  • Environmentally Friendly Harnessing solar energy does generally not cause pollution. However, there are emissions associated with the manufacturing, transportation and installation of solar power systems –
  • Good Availability Solar energy is available all over the world
  • Many Applications Solar energy can be used for many different purposes
  • With the introduction of shared solar, homeowners can subscribe to “community solar gardens”, and generate solar electricity without actually having solar panels on their own rooftops.
  •  
    Pros to solar energy
  •  
    3. Sustainable An abundant and renewable energy source is also sustainable. Sustainable energy sources meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. In other words, solar energy is sustainable because there is no way we can over-consume.
Nick Waters

Pro of solor enerrgy - 0 views

  • A solar furnace is any device that creates heat by concentrating sunlight through the use of reflectors. There are many different sizes of solar furnaces that you can purchase or build yourself
  • The principle of operation consists of two mirrors pointing at a focus. The intensity of sunlight in that focus will increase approximately three times. The reason for this is because instead of only getting light from the sun, the focus gets light from the sun and two mirrors.
  • Two mirrors pointing at a focus is not going to generate enough solar energy for you to do much. Once you have 10 mirrors pointing at a focus, you will begin to get closer to levels that are capable of heating and cooking food.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The great thing about solar furnaces is that they are extremely versatile and have no negative effects on the environment.
  •  
    The great thing about solar energy is that it can be used for a many different things. Just within your home you can use solar power to run your lighting, heating, stove, washer and much more. You can even run a solar furnace off of solar energy. Here's how a solar furnace works...
Ian Doin

Conversion Efficiency of a PV Cell - 2 views

  • Today's PV devices convert 7%-17% of light energy into electric energy. Of course, the other side of the equation is the money it costs to manufacture the PV devices. This has been improved over the years as well. In fact, today's PV systems produce electricity at a fraction of the cost of early PV systems.
Nicholas Fuller

Pros of solar energy - 1 views

  • Good for the Environment One of the main draws to solar energy is how fits in with a growing trend to act more environmentally conscious. It accomplishes this by three ways. For one it’s renewable, unlike other popular forms of energy such as fossil fuel, solar energy won’t run out. Second, due to being renewable it’s also sustainable. As other forms of energy cease to exist, they can pose a risk for future generations that might rely on those types of power. Finally, solar energy doesn’t create the problems of pollution that coal and fossil fuel energy do.   Savings on Monthly Power Bills With financing helping to offset the initial cost, the monthly savings from having solar power can really add up over time. This is party made possible because you can ‘sell back’ excess solar energy that reduces your total power bill, in some cases down to $0.   Availability Many areas around the world are prime locations for harnessing the sun’s energy. This becomes more apparent as new technologies improve the efficiency of collecting solar power.   Maintenance Because solar panels don’t involve any moving parts, they are relatively maintenance-free. All that’s normally needed is a simple cleaning a few times a year.
Ian Doin

what is a solar furnace - Google Search - 0 views

shared by Ian Doin on 12 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • solar furnaceA solar furnace is a structure that uses concentrated solar power to produce high temperatures, usually for industry. Parabolic mirrors or heliostats concentrate light (Insolation) onto a focal point.
Linus Sante

How Do Solar Panels Work? | Photovoltaic Cells | LiveScience - 0 views

  • Simply put, a solar panel works by allowing photons, or particles of light, to knock electrons free from atoms, generating a flow of electricity. Solar panels actually comprise many, smaller units called photovoltaic cells. (Photovoltaic simply means they convert sunlight into electricity.) Many cells linked together make up a solar panel. Each photovoltaic cell is basically a sandwich made up of two slices of semi-conducting material, usually silicon — the same stuff used in microelectronics.
Sydney Yung

HowStuffWorks "Photovolatic Cells: Converting Photons to Electrons" - 0 views

  • photovoltaic (PV) cells, which as the name implies (photo meaning "light" and voltaic meaning "electricity"), convert sunlight directly into electricity. A module is a group of cells connected electrically and packaged into a frame (more commonly known as a solar panel), which can then be grouped into larger solar arrays
  • Photovoltaic cells are made of special materials called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently used most commonly. Basically, when light strikes the cell, a certain portion of it is absorbed within the semiconductor material. This means that the energy of the absorbed light is transferred to the semiconductor. The energy knocks electrons loose, allowing them to flow freely.
  • PV cells also all have one or more electric field that acts to force electrons freed by light absorption to flow in a certain direction. This flow of electrons is a current, and by placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the PV cell, we can draw that current off for external use
Cameron Bleibtrey

Solar - 0 views

  •  
    Solar energy is a renewable energy source. This means that we cannot run out of solar energy, as opposed to non-renewable energy sources (e.g. fossil fuels, coal and nuclear). We will have access to solar energy for as long as the sun is alive - another 6.5 billion years according to NASA[1]. We have worse things to worry about; in fact, scientists have estimated that the sun itself will swallow Earth 5 billion years from now
Max Benedetto

Solar furnace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • A solar furnace is a structure that uses concentrated solar power to produce high temperatures, usually for industry. Parabolic mirrors or heliostats concentrate light (Insolation) onto a focal point. The temperature at the focal point may reach 3,500 °C (6,330 °F), and this heat can be used to generate electricity, melt steel, make hydrogen fuel or nanomaterials.
  • The solar furnace principle is being used to make inexpensive solar cookers and solar-powered barbecues, and for solar water pasteurization.[9][10][11] A prototype Scheffler reflector is being constructed in India for use in a solar crematorium. This 50 m² reflector will generate temperatures of 700 °C (1,292 °F) and displace 200–300 kg of firewood used per cremation.[12]
Ian Doin

How does solar power work? - Scientific American - 1 views

  • How does a solar cell turn sunlight into electricity? In a crystal, the bonds [between silicon atoms] are made of electrons that are shared between all of the atoms of the crystal. The light gets absorbed, and one of the electrons that's in one of the bonds gets excited up to a higher energy level and can move around more freely than when it was bound. That electron can then move around the crystal freely, and we can get a current.
Katie Birkholz

Solar Energy | SEIA - 0 views

  • Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available, and the U.S. has some of the richest solar resources in the world. Modern technology can harness this energy for a variety of uses, including generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, commercial, or industrial use. The U.S. solar market faces both challenges and opportunities; the industry is working to scale up the production of solar technology, and drive down manufacturing and installation costs. There are several ways to harness solar energy: photovoltaics (also called solar electric), solar heating & cooling, concentrating solar power (typically built at utility-scale), and passive solar. The first three are active solar systems, which use mechanical or electrical devices that convert the sun's heat or light to another form of usable energy. Passive solar buildings are designed and oriented to collect, store, and distribute the heat energy from sunlight to maintain the comfort of the occupants without the use of moving parts or electronics. Solar energy is a flexible energy technology: solar power plants can be built as distributed generation (located at or near the point of use) or as a central-station, utility-scale solar power plant (similar to traditional power plants). Some utility-scale solar plants can store the energy they produce for use after the sun sets. 
Nicholas Fuller

solar energy tax insentive - 0 views

  •  
    The incentives and rebates are both real and substantial. Local, state and federal governments offer tremendous financial incentives for businesses to choose solar. A combination of incentives and tax credits can cover more than 30% of the total cost! The most important thing to keep in mind about these governmental programs is this-they won't last forever. Now is the time to take advantage of the federal and state mandate to switch to renewable sources of energy; once the adoption rate reaches a certain level, the incentives will disappear.
John Potter

Advantages and disadvantages of Solar Photovoltaic - Quick Pros and Cons of Solar PV - 0 views

  • PV panels are totally silent, producing no noise at all; consequently, they are a perfect solution for urban areas and for residential applications (see solar panels for home)
  • Solar energy is energy supplied by nature – it is thus free and abundant! Solar energy can be made available almost anywhere there is sunlight
  • Solar Panels cost is currently on a fast reducing track and is expected to continue reducing for the next years
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • As in all renewable energy sources, solar energy has intermittency issues; not shining at night but also during daytime there may be cloudy or rainy weather
  • Operating and maintenance costs for PV panels are considered to be low, almost negligible, compared to costs of other renewable energy systems
John Potter

How PV Cells Work - 1 views

  •  
    The sun provides the Earth with two major forms of energy: heat and light. There are some solar powered systems that utilize heat energy while others transform the light energy into electricity. There are three ways to harness the sun's energy for use in our homes: solar cells, solar water heating, and solar furnaces
1 - 14 of 14
Showing 20 items per page